The present invention relates generally to business call centers, and specifically to handling of customer callback requests in such call centers.
For many businesses, call centers play increasingly important roles in providing superior customer service in a cost-effective manner. Call centers enable businesses to offer their customers products, services and customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sophisticated switching equipment and software for call centers enable customer calls to be routed efficiently to agents in the call center who have the appropriate skills to handle the customers"" specific requirements. The software keeps records of calls in order to track customer needs and preferences, manage the agents"" states and activities, and maintain statistics on agents"" performance. The software also balances the load of incoming calls from customers among the available agents, using data provided by the switching equipment, in order to maximize the efficiency of use of call center resources and minimize customer waiting time.
Call centers frequently offer callback service, in order to enhance their availability to customers and avoid situations in which incoming calls from customers are kept on hold for extended periods while waiting for an agent to become available. A customer can request a callback immediately, in which case an agent from the call center returns the customer""s call immediately upon becoming available, or at a later time that the customer indicates is convenient. The actual callback is, of course, an outgoing call and is handled differently from incoming calls by the switching equipment and call center software. Agents engaged in making callbacks, therefore, are removed from the pool of available agents for purposes of load balancing. Outgoing calls, which are typically dialed out by the agents, are not subject to same the sort of call tracking and acquisition of statistics as are incoming calls.
Increasingly, business Web sites offer telephony links to their call centers. For this purpose, for example, Lucent Technologies offers an Internet Call Center, which is described in a White Paper (Lucent Technologies, Dec. 15, 1997), which is incorporated herein by reference. The Internet Call Center is built around an Internet Telephony Gateway (ITG) and a Java Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) server, integrated with a xe2x80x9cDefinityxe2x80x9d Enterprise Communications Server (ECS), which serves as the call center switching equipment. A Web site using the Internet Call Center can offer the customer the options of placing a voice call to the call center over the Internet, using a Java applet that the ITG downloads to the customer""s computer, or of requesting a callback from the center to a telephone number that the customer specifies. The customer typically invokes these options by selecting appropriate on-screen controls on certain pages of the Web site.
When the customer requests a callback in this manner, an electronic mail (e-mail) message to the call center is generated. The ITG reads the message and initiates a xe2x80x9cphantom callxe2x80x9d through the ECS, i.e., an internal virtual message call, which does not use a connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to which the ECS is coupled. The phantom call from the ITG is queued and routed by the ECS according to a Vector Directory Number (VDN) specified by the Web page from which the customer requested the callback, along with other information indicative of the customer""s service needs. The VDN and other information are used by the ECS to route the callback request automatically to an agent in a group having the appropriate skills to handle the particular customer request.
When an agent in the group becomes available, the email xe2x80x9ccallxe2x80x9d is delivered to the agent""s voice terminal (i.e., the agent""s telephone extension), and the CTI server notifies the ITG that the call has been answered. The ITG sends a copy of the actual e-mail message to be viewed on the monitor screen of the agent""s personal computer (PC) terminal. Communications between the ITG, CTI and agent terminals are generally carried out using the Java Telephony Application Program Interface (JTAPI), as described, for example, in the JTAPI Programmer""s Reference and the JTAPI Client Programmer""s Guide (Lucent Technologies, October, 1997), which are incorporated herein by reference. The agent may, if necessary, forward the message to other agents for consultation or handling. When the agent is ready to speak with the customer, he or she places an outgoing call from the voice terminal, through the ECS, via the PSTN to a telephone number (or to one of a list of telephone numbers) that the customer has specified and which appears in the e-mail message.
It is an object of some aspects of the present invention to provide improved callback capabilities for call centers.
It is a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus enabling improved tracking of callbacks from a call center.
It is still a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus enabling improved load balancing among incoming and outgoing calls in a call center.
It is yet a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide common and consistent methods to manage the states and activities of agents in the call center using a single point of control, through which all types of service requests are directed.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a call center is configured so that callbacks are handled as incoming, rather than outgoing, calls. The call center comprises telephone switching equipment, referred to hereinafter simply as a switch, and one or more telephony servers coupled to the switch, including a callback server for handling callback requests from customers. When a callback request is received, the callback server queues the callback request, preferably in a queue maintained as a database, for either immediate or deferred processing. At the appropriate time, the server places an incoming phantom call to a suitable agent, and the phantom call is then conferenced with an outgoing call to the requesting customer, typically using conferencing capability already built into the call center. As a result of initiating the phantom call to the agent, the switch recognizes and handles the callback as an incoming call. Callbacks are thus subject to the same statistical record generation and load balancing functions performed by the switch with respect to normal incoming calls.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, a customer requesting a callback is asked to specify a time or times at which the callback should be made. Preferably, the call center schedules the callbacks so as to ensure that the call load on agents (including normal incoming calls, as well) does not exceed the expected availability of agents at any particular time of day and, further preferably, so that agents do not encounter xe2x80x9cdead timesxe2x80x9d during the day. For this purpose, the call center tracks the expected load against expected agent availability and blocks out certain times of day during which the customer may or may not request that the callback be made. Additional factors, such as customer service level agreements, are preferably also taken into account. The available times for callback are preferably displayed for customer selection on a customer service Web page associated with the call center. Alternatively or additionally, the customer may request the callback by telephone, fax or e-mail message without going through the Web page. In any case, the callback server receives the customer request and causes the switch to handle the callback as an incoming call, as described hereinabove.
Preferably, the call center enables agents to handle multiple calls concurrently or sequentially, without altering the incoming call status of callbacks. Most preferably, the incoming call status is maintained even when one agent conferences another agent into a callback conversation or transfers the call to the other agent.
There is therefore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for managing communication between a communications center and a party outside the center, which center has a central communications switch which is configured to generate incoming call event indications responsive to incoming calls to the center, including:
receiving a request from the party for a callback; and
establishing an outgoing call to the outside party through the switch, responsive to the request, such that the switch generates an incoming call event indication responsive to the outgoing call.
Preferably, establishing the outgoing call includes placing an incoming call and an outgoing call through the switch, responsive to the request, and conferencing the outgoing and incoming calls so that the event indication is generated responsive to the outgoing call. Most preferably, placing the incoming call includes placing a call on a phantom extension of the switch.
Further preferably, the center is staffed by one or more agents at respective agent stations, and placing the incoming call includes placing an incoming call to one of the agents who is to speak with the outside party on the outgoing call. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes connecting another one of the agents in the center to the outgoing call while the outgoing and incoming calls remain conferenced, wherein the other one of the agents remains connected to the outgoing call while receiving another incoming call, even when the other incoming call is placed to the other agent responsive to another callback request from another outside party.
Preferably, receiving the request from the outside party includes storing information related to the request in a database, and the method includes, responsive to the incoming call, conveying the information from the database to the agent who is to speak with the outside party.
Preferably, the method includes recording information regarding the outgoing call using the incoming call event indication generated responsive thereto. Further preferably, the method includes balancing a load of incoming and outgoing calls among the agents responsive to the incoming call event indications generated responsive to the incoming and outgoing calls.
In a preferred embodiment, receiving the request includes receiving a request to make the callback at a time specified by the outside party, and establishing the outgoing call includes placing a call at approximately the specified time.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for managing communication between a communications center and a party outside the center, including:
offering the outside party a choice of time slots at which resources of the center will be available to place an outgoing call responsive to a callback request by the party;
receiving the party""s selection of one or more of the time slots; and
placing the outgoing call to the party in approximately the selected time slot.
Preferably, offering the choice of time slots includes calculating a predicted work load of the center and adjusting the choice of time slots responsive to the work load. Further preferably, offering the choice of time slots includes determining, based on the callback request, which resources of the center are needed for the outgoing call and adjusting the choice of time slots responsive to the resources. Most preferably, offering the choice of time slots includes assigning a priority level to the outgoing call based on the callback request and adjusting the choice of time slots responsive to the priority level.
In a preferred embodiment, offering the choice of time slots includes downloading over a computer network a time slot pad including the choice of time slots for display on a computer used by the outside party, and receiving the selection includes receiving over the network a selection made on the pad displayed on the computer.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a callback server for use in a communications center, having a central communications switch which generates incoming call event indications responsive to incoming calls to the center, which server is configured so that in response to a request from a party outside the center to establish a communication link with the party, the server establishes an outgoing call to the outside party through the switch such that the switch generates an incoming call event indication responsive to the outgoing call.
There is moreover provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a network server for use in a communications center, which server is configured to communicate over a computer network with a party outside the center so as to offer the outside party a choice of time slots at which resources of the center will be available to place an outgoing call to the party and to receive the party""s selection of one or more of the time slots, so that the center will place the outgoing call to the party in approximately the selected time slot.
Preferably, the server communicates with a computer used by the outside party to communicate over the network in accordance with the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a communications center, including:
a communications switch, which is coupled to a public communications network and which generates incoming call event indications responsive to incoming calls to the center;
one or more agent stations, which are staffed by respective agents and are connected via the switch to the network;
a memory, which receives and stores a request from a party outside the center to establish a communication link with the party over the network; and
a callback server, which receives the stored request from the memory and, responsive thereto, establishes an outgoing call between one of the agents and the outside party using the switch, such that the switch generates an incoming call indication responsive to the outgoing call.
In a preferred embodiment, an incoming call is placed using a phantom extension of the switch to one of the agents responsive to a request from another party outside the center for a non-voice communication, so that the switch generates an incoming call event indication responsive to the non-voice communication.
In another preferred embodiment, the center includes a computer network server, configured to communicate over a computer network with a computer used by the outside party outside the center so as to offer the party the choice of time slots, and to receive the party""s selection of one or more of the time slots and to convey the selection to the callback server.
There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, computer software product for managing communication between a communications center and a party outside the center, which center has a central communications switch which is configured to generate incoming call event indications responsive to incoming calls to the center, the product including a computer-readable medium having program instructions embedded therein, which when read by a computer in the communications center, cause the computer to receive a request from the party for a callback and to establish an outgoing call to the outside party through the switch, responsive to the request, such that the switch generates an incoming call event indication responsive to the outgoing call.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for managing communication between a communications center and a party outside the center, the product including a computer-readable medium having program instructions embedded therein, which when read by a computer in the communications center, cause the computer to communicate to the outside party a choice of time slots at which resources of the center will be available to place an outgoing call responsive to a callback request by the party, to receive the party""s selection of one or more of the time slots, and to cause the outgoing call to the party to be established in approximately the selected time slot.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings in which: